Where the Lines Overlap
by ReluctantOptimist
Summary: I stare up at the starry skies, and I see his face. I overhear the winds whisper his name. I see his smile and hear his laugher and I feel my soul awaken. Why? Had the narrow line my life once followed finally made a turn? Is this where our lines overlap
1. Where the Lines Overlap: Part I

**Author's note: Hope you all like it.**

**Summary: ****I stare up at the starry skies, and I see his face. I overhear the winds whisper his name. I see his smile and hear his laugher and I feel my soul awaken. Why? Had the narrow line my life once followed finally make a turn? If so, I hope it follows him wherever he goes, because he has somehow not only stolen my heart, but he had awakened my soul.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Warnings: Sex scene, because I haven't written one in quite a while.**

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><p><strong>Where the Lines Overlap<strong>

The sound was that of grinding tires, screeching as they tore down the street, or so it seemed. It was actually just the alarm clock buzzing in my damned ear, but it sounded like brakes grinding together in an epic indignation.

I winced, groaning irately. I blindly groped for the contraption until finally I felt it under my palm and smashed it. It silenced immediately, but the dizziness and sharp buzzing that palpitated in my head refused to seize.

_This damn job is going to be the death of me._ It was six in the morning, and during the winter seasons, going out into the morning air meant frostbite up the ass. But I couldn't entirely blame my job. I loved working under my music director and interning while aspiring to become a world-renowned musical engineer; or producer for short.

Edward Cullen was a wonderful musical composer and producer, and I was more than honored to be chosen to work under him, but this waking up at six in the morning every day to set up and study equipment was a bit much, especially with this hangover hammering against my skull. It made me ponder if it was all actually worth it, because not only did I have to get up at inhumane hours, but I was also alone in that huge building. Well not exactly alone. Some crew members were there to help me set up and tell me what was what and where it all goes, but still, they never struck up a conversation. Instead it was always work; their minds always on how big their paycheck was this week or the next. Damned bores.

But as I mentioned, I couldn't proclaim that my work was liable for my hung-over state. It was more so because of my insufferable cousin, Paul, who had his birthday party last night and decided to spike my drink when I wasn't looking. I only remembered because right before I took that final sip before my arrival into drunken bliss, he had smacked me hard on the back and said, "Now aren't you happy I gave your drink a little 'umph'?" But I had already drunk the last sip and I was gone. What I did after that point was beyond my knowing or comprehension.

_I should've never gone…he's what's going to be the end of me, going along with his crap._ Although I couldn't help it at times, especially since Paul and I are cousins on an entirely different level. I was convinced that there are no other cousins that could compare to the relationship Paul and I had, not one could even come close. I knew him since I was born, literally. He was standing, or so I've told, right beside the bed as soon as I had been smacked on the ass by the doctor and given to my mother.

I had done everything with Paul. We went to the same schools throughout our entire lives—except college because he refused to go, but despite that fact he's still doing pretty well for himself with his soon-to-be fiancée, Rachel Black. We had liked the same girls, when I thought I was interested in them, which reminds me that we even experimented at the same times as we went through the stages of questioning our own sexualities, and in that time we even liked the same guys.

There were only _three real_ distinct differences between him and me. 1.) He had hit a growth spurt that was unbelievable and left him at a height of about 6"3 or 6"5, while when I hit mine it left me at 5"10. 2.) His build was far bigger than mine. He had the body of a statue and the tautness of a building, where I was more so lean and lithe, but was still quite shaped myself. 3.) He had found out that after experimenting for so long he wasn't actually wasn't all that interested in guys, while I…well I was. I held on to my attraction for men.

He was three years older than I was, and since he had turned twenty-one yesterday he had been ecstatic and unbearably persistent that he made the night of his twenty-first birthday the most epic nights he had ever lived, and this declaration was made six months before his birthday was even going to happen. But to say the night was nothing less than epic was the truth. It was indeed, the shit! He had it at the city's most popular night club that had five floors and a bar on each one, and he made sure that they reserved the top floor for his event.

The night started young, but ended…I don't know when it ended. I wasn't even sure how I got home last night. But even though I didn't drink much, but he managed to spiked my glass when I wasn't looking, and I was now sporting a damned annoying hangover that was kicking my ass to and from the Netherlands of Hell, the party was nothing short of the best I've ever been to—and I've been to a lot of parties, especially having Paul as a cousin that lived next door to me for seventeen years before finally I got away from him and my parents and rented an apartment with the money from my internship a few months ago. But life with Paul was always fun. There was never a dull moment with him around. Without him I just don't know how I would've turned out.

I groaned again as I languidly tossed my covers aside, and standing I cupped my throbbing head in my hands to try and appease the inevitable migraine that formed. I failed, and heaved a demurred sigh before stalking carefully to the bathroom. I fell against the sink as soon as I stepped onto the porcelain tiles, and I noted that my arms ached terribly when I caught myself, and I hissed.

I looked down at my bare arms, and my eyes widened at the scars that ran across my skin on either limb. "What the hell…?" I thought aloud, and I then noted just then that my shoulders were hurting. I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was more disheveled than my usual bedhead. I looked over my face and my brows furrowed as my eyes focused in on the reddish-black markings that nearly completely devoured my neck. _What the hell happened last night_? I thought. I sighed and ran a hand through my messy dark tresses as I speculated the markings pulsing over my skin before turning to the shower.

I stopped. In my peripheral, as I turned away from the mirror, I saw another contusion discoloring the skin on my shoulder from my reflection. I turned my head back to the mirror with my back facing it and I felt my breath catch in my chest, while my mouth hung open and eyes widened as I surveyed the scratches and bruises that blemished across my back and shoulders.

"What the hell is this?" I gaped. I touched the scars, tracing them, noticing that some were more tender than others. _What did I do last night_? I discerned another hickey on my back, this one having teeth prints around it, and my eyes widened as I stood stunned. …_Or rather _what_ or _who_ for that matter, did me…_? I measured the colorations and bruises that marred my body, and began to wonder what kind of human could do such a thing as to place these hideous claims over me, biting to the point where the imprints of his…or her teeth were still embedded into my skin the next day.

I conclude that it had to have been the work of an animal. _I don't own an pet…was I mulled by some stray dog? If that's the case, then I must've tried to walk home…well at least I was rational enough not to drink and drive, but that meant that I car was still at the club…_I hummed thoughtfully before realizing the thought that just popped into my head. _…What the hell is wrong with me? I wasn't fucking raped by some goddamn stray! If that _were the case _I think I would be dead…or rather I would prefer to be._

I heaved a perplexed sigh. _Fuck it._ I finally thought and left it at that. _Someone just got by with a free pass…I'll be sure to get tested later this week…_and then I went to prepare for work, noticing while doing so that I had a sort of subtle stagger in my step. _This won't due_, I scowled myself. _I can't show up to work like this…I'll just have to fake it until I make it._ And I finished prepping myself before leaving.

**X:~/~:X**

I weaved through cars speedily after I had gone to pick me up a cup of coffee to try and subdue the unnecessarily painful ache pounding against my brain. I parked in an unoccupied space when I was outside my building, reasoning with myself the entire way that: since I still had my car, then I didn't walk home last night, which means I couldn't have possibly been mulled, raped or violated in any way by some stray mutt. But silently I wished I had left my car at the club, the purring of the engine resounding and emanating a roar in my head. I couldn't have been happier to have been at work and able to finaly escape from it, and turn it off.

I stepped out of the car and went into the building through the back door as I usually did, made a few turns this way and that, murmuring amiable 'hellos' to everyone I saw before approaching the locker room and depositing my things into it. I only opted to don my beige leather jacket and red and black scarf—that hid the embarrassing markings—realizing some time ago that it tended to be cold inside the building this early when the heat was turned off.

For once I was grateful to the winter weather, because I was permitted to wear my scarf to hide the hickeys, not to mention that it was incredibly warm also. But I reveled the cotton material from around me and grabbed the key hanging around my neck that opened the door to the studio.

"Hey..." I jumped a mile high as I reflexively snatched the key from around my neck, snapping the string it was attached to and hurriedly I rewrapped the scarf around my naked skin. I turned to the figure, noticing the God of my dreams standing not even ten feet away. "…Seth, right?"

This man was glorious. His name was Jacob something. I never learned his last name, but he was outstanding, and gorgeous in every aspect of the word. He was the epitome of my own personal perfection, embodying everything my heart desired—at least when it came to appearances. He was tall, nearly as tall as Paul if not taller. He was built similarly as my cousin, his shoulders a little less or more broader. He had small but brilliant brown eyes, short cropped hair and a smile that melted everything in my body. If sex appeal had an inventor, then it had to have been this man's idea, because he was appealing in every way imaginable; wet, dry, sweaty, wet, especially wet. The thoughts had me recalling my summer internship just a few months prior; his bare chest glisteing with sweaty, his hair and shirts soaked when he would pour a bottle of water over his head and roughlyrun his hands through his wet hair. The thoughts had my member twitching. _The things I would do to you..._

"…uh…so does the silence count as a yes?…no?…maybe?…" I noticed him staring at me. _I could stare at him staring at me for the rest of life_. "…okay…" He dralwed. "...never mind then..."

"Huh."

He laughed a husky laugh that sent shivers to my groin. He shook his head. "I was just saying good morning." He turned to his locker and started taking things off and putting things away inside it.

"Oh…good morning." I said, and stood their dumbly, half expecting more conversation, but I knew how the workers were, so why I expected it, I don't even know. But right as I was about to walk passed he did speak.

"So, how'd he enjoy the party last night?" He asked, a mischievousness saturating his tone as his head was buried in his locker. I could hear the smirk playing across his face. But I paid no mind, only wondering how he knew I went to a party yesterday. _I hadn't told anyone_...

"…Umm…fine, but how did you know I was at a party last night?" I asked skeptical as I tried to abate my inner turmoil. _Oh my GOD!...was he stalking me?_ I tried to calm myself. _He's sexy but still…that's not hot, not at all._

"Because...I was there too." He answered, looking around his still opened locker, and staring at me with his brows furrowed. "You don't remember me?" I shook my head, and the furrow of his brows deepened. "How could you not after—"

"I mean, well where, were you?" I interjected, rudely. "There were like five floors in the club I went to…Are you even sure we were at the same place?"

"Yeah," he laughed and my body tingled. "I'm positive we were…Extravaganza, right?" I nodded. "I was on the fifth floor with Paul and Rachel." My eyes broadened slightly, and I took a subtle step back.

"How do you know my cousin and his girl friend?" I asked shocked. _How much of my life does he know about?_ He laughed again and I was certain I moaned out loud from how shudders hit my body in waves, sending erotic messages to my groin each time.

"Well considering the fact that your cousin is about to propose to my sister, then I better have gotten to know him a bit beforehand. Had to make sure he was good enough." He grinned. "He's crazy, but he checks out…plus she's crazy about him."

_Wait what_? I got lost somewhere in the middle. "…sister…Rachel?" He nodded and smiled. "Rachel Black?...she's your sister? Like blood sister…not just you've known her all your life and you two are just close."

He laughed again. _Damn it he's going to stop laughing, or so help me GOD! I willing jump him right now!_ "Yeah. She's my actual sister. One hundred percent blood sister…you didn't know that?" I shook my head as my eyes grew larger. _So it's…Jacob…Black_? I thought. "…well I'm guessing neither of them really talk much about me then, eh? I guess that's expected since judging from yesterday they couldn't seem to get their tongues out of each other's mouths long enough to form a sentence." He chuckled.

_Damn it_!

"I met you yesterday…" He continued, and my shock was replaced with disbelief. _I've known him for nearly a year…what the hell does he mean he met me yesterday?_ "…well officially anyways. But you seemed to have forgotten me, so... I'm Jacob Black. It's nice to meet you…" His hand protruded out to me and I took it tentatively.

"…Seth…Clearwater…" I answered as though I was unsure of myself.

"You sure?" He teased, and I nodded my head as I watched him smile at me again. I think I counted four, or five. I don't know, but they were all breathtaking. Then I watched as he took his hand back from mine after giving it a soft shake. "…sorry about not introducing myself earlier…we would've avoided all of this, but you know, work and all the other crap sort of tied me up from meeting, greeting, and dining you properly."

"Oh…it's o—you say what?...Dining?"

"If you don't mind." I stood in a stupor, still stupidly confused. "I still haven't figured out what silence means...so is that a yes?...no?...you'll think about it?..."

"…Oh, uh…well…I mean, I don't really know…well…uh…" I heard him laugh at me wholeheartedly, and I was certain that my face had turned a dark shade of pink. _What the hell am I saying_?

"Hey, Seth!" I blinked from my musing, and looked around Jacob's huge frame, noting Quil standing irately in the doorway, staring daggers through me, and I took a step back as a bone chilling shiver raced up and back down my spine. "For the last time you little pipsqueak, you're the only one that has a key to the studio this earlier. And I have been waiting for you out by the door for god knows how long, so I'm just going to ask: were you planning on coming to open the damn door anytime soon?"

My face scrunched as I winced from the hammering in my head. It had finally begun to somewhat subside before Quil started his shouting, and it came back and attacked with a vengeance I hadn't known it had against me. I looked back up at Jacob who had turned and was now staring at Quil. "S-sorry." I murmured before hearing Quil enter another tirade.

"God damn it!" He growled, turning around to walk away. "I go through this with you nearly every goddamn day…just hurry up!" Then I heard Jacob's chesty laughter before he turned around to me.

"Wow. He's not a morning person, is he?" I smiled.

"I guess not, but I really should get going and go setup before Mr. Cullen gets in." I stated as I moved around him, and I could feel his eyes on me as I walked away, and for some reason it felt good to know he was watching me leave.

"Hey!" He called, and I turned to him. "I never got an answer."

_Oh yeah._ "…umm, sure, why not." His smile, I concluded, was addictive, and I can't help but offer him a smile in return.

"Tonight…Give me the address later, and I'll swing by and pick you up. Sound good?" I giggled. I didn't know I knew how, but apparently after staring into his eyes for so long, a gaitey feeling started to bubble in my stomach, and it finally came up and pressed past my lips, and I giggled. "…cute." I heard him whisper, and I quickly silence myself before clearing my throat.

"…sounds good." I replied, but couldn't resist the smile that crept upon my face afterwards. I turned back after shortly remembering I still had duties to attend to before Mr. Cullen came in at eight, and I disappeared up the vestibule after cutting the corner and a few more until I reached the studio room and saw Quil still fuming, and I couldn't suppress my laughs as I watched his scowling face.

He was always like this in the morning, but he was a really nice guy after he had his coffee I noticed. In addition, he would teach me about the equipment when Mr. Cullen wasn't around, and he was a damned good teach. He just goes a little nuts in the morning, that's all.

"What?" He glared, and I shook my head.

"Nothing." I smiled, and opened the studio.

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><p><strong>I don't know how long this story is going to be, but it was only supposed to be a one-shot that turned into something more. So it's probably going to be a short story; four or five chapters. But the chapters won't have names since this was ought to be a one-shot. <strong>

**But tell me what you think, okay?**


	2. Where the Lines Overlap: Part II

**I've decided to make this a soft, kind of slow story. Where nothing really dramatic happens, but everything is just calm and collective. That's what I'm feeling as I'm writing this, and hopefully you all feel the same...But enjoy...**

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><p><em><strong>Part II<strong> _

My job—after setting up all the equipment—was quite easy, because all I had to do afterwards was sit, watch, and ask questions, learning as much as I could without interfering too much in Mr. Cullen's work. He had come in about three hours ago, and ever since he had been working with the orchestra as he stood in the enormous auditorium in front of the lecture with his conducting stick, weaving it left and right while the orchestra played beautiful music that mimicked his movements.

I stood to the side and listened to the beautiful sounds, albeit, orchestral music really wasn't my department of study, but an important lesson I instilled in myself was to be open to new genres and ideas, and to be versatile. Also, to never be afraid to think outside of the box by adding unorthodox pieces into music that I wouldn't, first, second or even thirdly ever considered adding—being diverse. And so I watched and learned.

Jacob, who worked full time, was still toiling with god knows what, but he was in the same auditorium as well, and would, every so often, walk by me and whisper, in a strangely seductive voice, into my ear, commenting about the hickeys across my neck. It first began with him saying, "Nice hickeys…boyfriend give 'em to you?" And would smile and walk away.

Then he'd come back and I'd say something, arguing that I didn't have a boyfriend. "Why not?" He whispered.

"…haven't found anyone worthwhile…" I replied curtly when he came back around.

I could've sworn he moaned into my ear, and my knees felt like jelly when he walked past again. "Mhm…maybe you have…" I looked after him as he walked away, carrying something in his hands. What the hell was it that he did exactly?..._And what was that answer supposed to mean_? _Surely he's not talking about himself._ I chuckled. "…I'm talking about me…" he clarified, and I snorted.

"Cocky." I stated before he walked away.

"Do you want some?" He asked, carrying something new in his hands. He was working fast.

"What? I said cocky." I whispered back at him.

"Oh…thought you said cock." I tried to stifle my laughter as he tried to force its way out, and I think the stifling was louder than the laughter would've been and I clasped my hand over my mouth.

"Seth, is something amusing you?" My eyes focused on Mr. Cullen, noticing that he and the entire orchestra were staring intently at me. I held my laughs at bay, but I kept my hand over my mouth to hide the grin outlined against my face.

"…Uh…" I looked around the auditorium, but he was nowhere to be found. He was gone. _Well okay._ I thought, my giggling subsiding and I moved my hand away from my face. "No…no nothing at all. Sorry." I heard my teacher hum before tapping his stick against the edge of his podium and move fluidly as the music from the horn and string instruments followed.

"…nothing at all, eh?" The intimately seducing tone whispered into my ear and I turned around to face Jacob.

"Where did you just come from?" He pointed and I followed the digit as it directed my eyes to behind the curtains. "What are you doing back there?"

"Work." He answered simply, and I rolled my eyes. Duh. "You ask a lot of questions."

"That's what I'm here for, to learn. So it only makes sense that I'm inquisitive." I fortified. "And you're the one whispering all seductive in _my_ ear." He flashed me his smile.

"I never said it was problem, but what are we going to talk about over dinner if you ask all your questions now?" That was a good point I concluded to myself. He chuckled at the expression I was making that abruptly changed from one of defensiveness to one plausibly saying: "…oh…" and that's it.

"I'll talk to you a little later." He whispered. "Hmm…say seven?" He tested, and I nodded and watched him leave. _Hmm…now I'm watching him leave…changed roles just that quick…_I turned to the music playing behind me and studied the scene and sounds emanating from each instrument, and how Mr. Cullen's stick flowed to command such euphoric resonances from them.

**X:~/~:X**

The work day was over, and as I turned the key to my car in the ignition and felt the metal contraption trembled under me, a knock resounded against the window. My first reaction was throwing the shift into reverse and gunning out of there, assuming someone was trying to hijack me again.

It couldn't be put in that predicament ever again. It was too much…and too confusing. It was perhaps the worst moment of my life. It was so unexpected; nothing could've prepared me for it. Two men, seemingly out of nowhere, in broad daylight, in a church parking lot, hijacked me at gunpoint.

This all happened a few months prior to my internship—two weeks before being chosen for the internship actually—while I was heading to Paul's new condominium down by the prairie. I had no idea how he could afford such a place, but I suppose that him taking over his father's construction corporation really paid off—regardless of the fact that he knew little next to nothing about corporate industries, but he was handy with tools.

But somewhere down the road I had taken a few wrong turns and was completely lost. I stopped in a church parking lot, and ironically I hoped by doing so that I wouldn't be left open or too vulnerable to any predators looking for trouble. I killed the engine, thankfully leaving the keys in the ignition, and called Paul, immediately asking for directions from a street I squinted my eyes to see at the corner.

While Paul was on the other end of the line explaining to me a new route, two men, apparently clawing their way from the cracks of Hell—because I honestly didn't notice them approaching me—pounded against the glass of the driver's window, and it shattered before I could even react. I heard them hollering commands, along with a filament of obscenities but my mind couldn't register it all in time.

They both held guns, but only one aimed his at me, asking me if I wanted to get shot and forcibly jerked me out of the car, carelessly tossing me onto the ground. Then he replaced me in the driver's seat, the engine thundered, and they took off.

Somewhere in the mist of it all I had broken my phone, because when I had finally recollected myself I saw it laying in ruins where my car once was, assuming that it had gotten run over in their haste. I heard Paul yelling into my ear as the whole charade was going down. He sounded fretful and angry but I couldn't understand a word he was saying in my stunned state.

I had risen to my feet, perplexed on what my next move would be. I was stranded in an area I was unfamiliar with. I had no way of communication or transportation. The bus was an option, but I had no idea where the bus stop was, or even what bus to get on. I didn't even know where the bus would take me had I gotten on it.

I looked about and figured my only sensible option was to go into the church and ask to use a phone. I eventually was permitted to use their phone, after having to explain myself. I had presumed that they didn't trust the unfamiliar face, but they understood my situation, and after receiving a prayer or two I called Paul and he came to get me instead.

I was glad that I left my keys in the ignition, because had the thieves not been able to find them, there was no telling what they would've done to me to get them. I was also grateful that I had chosen to pay for legitimate car insurance, and not that illegal "hook-up" Paul had told me he had.

Despite being scared shitless, it wasn't all bad as I tried to be optimistic about everything. I had gotten a new car, a better one, and not only that but I was specifically chosen for the internship of my dreams that many applied for two weeks later. At times, I contemplated if one of those prayers for my "unfortunate happenings" as they put it, was "to be a blessing in disguise" or so the reverend called it, had actually been heard.

There was another knock and I flinched, my face contorting into a countenance of trepidation and confusion. Then I saw Jake, in the raining, under an umbrella, smiling. _When had it start raining_? I thought, figuring sometime during my reminiscence. It was pouring, but I let down the window anyways, permitting myself to get wet.

"You never gave me your address for our date tonight." He quickly stated, and I speedily told him my phone number, street name and apartment number and the quickest way to get there from where we were. "Okay," he shouted as a harsh wind whirled by and thunder began to crackle across the skies. "I'm going to head home first. But let's push plans from seven to eight o'clock instead, okay? This storm is pretty bad." I nodded and he turned to escape the weather in the comfort of his own vehicle.

I closed my eyes and took a steady breath. Once I was recomposed I let up my window, switched on the window wipers and headlights, and flayed out of the lot and up the streets.

**X:~/~:X**

Eight o'clock couldn't have come fast enough. I almost wondered if it came too fast, because I felt a knot of apprehension tightening in my gut. The feeling only got worse when he called the number I had given him and I heard his voice on the other end telling me he was outside. I didn't wait for him to answer when I told him I was on my way down, and I anxiously hung up the phone.

I grabbed my leather jacket and apartment keys from the side table before flicking the light switch on the wall next to the door off and I walking out. I emitted a surprised yelp when I saw Jacob's huge frame standing in my doorway, as he was donned with his black umbrella and a black hoodie.

"I thought you said you were outside." I complained.

"I am…I'm outside your door." He teased after flashing me another one of his signature smiles. I heaved a sigh and turned around to lock the door. "You ready?" I nodded and we moved down the stairs and to the front door.

It was shadowy outside. It wasn't entirely dark because of the fluorescence of the moon, but the star's dim glow was vague. The rain still poured heavily though, but the thunder and tempest winds had subsided. I watched Jacob unraveled his umbrella when we made it outside the doors, and we stood just under the roof of the building so that we didn't get soaked by the heavy showers. I stopped and stared.

"Something wrong?" He asked after discerning my numb stare.

"I forgot my umbrella," I answered turning around. "I'll be right back." I was going to go back into the complex, but his umbrella sprung open over me, and I looked up slightly taken aback from the sudden action.

"No need." He said and my eyes fell onto him. "We can share." He grinned, holding it out to me. Speechless, I just stared. His coarse hand wrapped around mine, and he entwined our fingers and pulled me closer into his side, his other hand holding the stem of the parasol over our heads.

"We'll both use it." He said gaiety. "C'mon, I parked around back," and he put our entangled hands in the pocket of his hoodie, and automatically my legs moved with him as he paced around the building, and we made small talk.

**X:~/:~X**

The rain had finally stopped.

The car ride was simple. We talked about miscellaneous things; Paul, Rachel, their proposal, and everything else that didn't have anything to do with either of us. I had made it a goal of mine that once we arrived at the diner—that I was sure we were going to—I would ask him all of the questions I had bottled up since the moment in the auditorium, and all the other questions I had contrived while waiting restlessly at home for hours to pass.

"Oh really? You're sister's an interior designer?" He exulted as I answered his earlier question about having siblings, to which he answered he had two older sisters before I could even reiterate the inquiry to him. "…I think Alice would love her."

"Who is Alice?"

"She's a friend of a friend." He replied, his eyes staring obstinately at the road ahead of him. I hummed, and a short silence fell between us. It was slightly uncomfortable, but then he suddenly exclaimed after a short while, "We're here," and I looked out the window, my eyes enlarging substantially.

_Where's the diner_? I gaped to myself as I stared up at, "Cèleste Entitè", my mouth agape as I ogled, dazzled by the five stars establishment. It was the most primary French restaurant in the state, if not country, built for those whose etiquettes far exceeded that of my own, and I shrank into myself a little. I wasn't equipped for a place such as this. Not amongst the high class folks. I was still just a kid in college. Where was the shanty diner I thought we were going to?

"Seth?" I turned to Jacob, noticing that he had already stepped out of the car and was staring at me through the open window, my body still in awe, and he chuckled at the astonishment I was sure was written over my face. "C'mon. He has to park the car." My eyes followed him as he gestured to the valet.

"Uh…oh, yeah." I, with uncertainty, stepped out and moved from the vehicle. I saw the valet driver hand Jacob a red ticket, and Jake giving him a couple of bills before Jake moved around the car and stood by my side.

"I'm starving…" he groaned. "You ready to eat?" My eyes fell back onto the extravagant building, and a mixture of both complacency and insufficiency lingered inside, tingling subtly as Jacob motioned towards the stature of abundant splendor, and my legs automatically followed after him.


	3. Where the Lines Overlap: Part III

**_Part: III_**

I sat across from Jacob as the usher led us to our table before handing two menus to either of us that read: carte du jour, in big bold letters—translating to "card of the day". He explained the week's special, and then decamped immediately after, his nose in the air and his penguin tuxedo flap fluttering as he spun around.

I took a moment to indulge in the elegance and decorum of this sanctuary. The carpets were a myriad of red, brown and black, while the walls were concrete, a cream color with intricate designs of swirls that outlined pictures of pottery etched into the walls. Pictures and plaques of French propriety were hung over the walls; Eiffel Tower, La Dèfense, Opéra Garnier, Ìle Saint-Louis, and the Norte Dame de Paris.

The ceiling was cream as well. An unusual holistic French cathedral was carved in the ceiling. Bèatà Maria—a French goddess—stood atop the carved cathedral with a baby in her arms and two angels at either of her sides. Four golden chandeliers gleamed and illuminated the entire dining hall under an intimately dim orange and white lighting.

"Wow." The word escaped me in a breathy tone, but Jacob didn't seem to notice as he was indulged in the contents of his menu, his eyes darting back and forth between choices. I decided to do the same.

An abundance of inquires flickered in my mind, but the most prominent question I asked myself was: How would I be able to pay for any of this? Jake, I concluded, was just a crew member, and I was certain that on a crew members salary he wouldn't be able to afford dinner for the both of us. My skepticism only heightened when I saw that the lowest price on the menu were twenty dollar per half a pound of scallops.

_This place is far too expensive for my budget_. Looking at the prices on the menu felt like I would be spending an entire semester of college tuition. _Why would he chose to eat here of all places_? _I'm not that hard to impress…Maybe I can just order a glass of water, and maybe a salad._ I turn to the entrées page and my arms went lax in my disbelief. _Fifteen dollars for a_ salad_?_ I groaned inwardly. _I'll just have a glass of water then._ I turned to the beverages…_Damn! Even water costs three dollars…son of a _bitch_!_

"You see anything you like?" I glanced up from behind my menu, nothing his eyes darting back and forth across the list of items before finally meeting mine. We stared at each other for a short while. I was entranced by the brown of his eyes, so deep that they looked black, but sparkled under the faintly intimate lighting. I could see my own reflection in them. They were so beautiful. Then I descried how his lips curved into a small smile, obviously detecting my evident beguilement. "Nothing at all?" He asked again.

"Oh!" My eyes immediately fell back onto the small card. Everything was written in French, and inwardly I praised myself for deciding to learn French instead of German. "Uh…" I liked to believe that I was rather fluent in the language that is known to be most romantic, but reading the words and then the prices, it all looked so foreign to me.

"I could recommend something for you if you can't decide." My head snapped up, and I caught him staring intently into my eyes, his own filled with the same enchantment mine had seconds ago. I felt my face heat from the immensity of his stare.

"Y-you come here often?" I asked, and as soon as the words left my lips I regretted it. _Of course he doesn't come here often dumbass…look at this place. It's too damn expensive for someone on our pay._ He shrugged before again indulging within his menu.

"Maybe once or twice a week. Not that often." I felt my jaw drop and hit the table. _Did he just say twice a _week_? What in the hell…_I was perplexed on levels unheard of before.

_How could he…could he afford to come to a place like this twice a week on the payroll of a crew worker_?_ He has got to be lying to me…I don't believe that. I can't. _"I'm sorry," he started, tearing me from my musings. "…I didn't even consider that you might not be able to read it."

"Uh…oh…no!" I tried to tell him, but he was already out of his seat and standing over me, his head in between the crook of my shoulder, and his hands on both of my shoulders as he leaned over to point at particular foods on the menu that I still held up in my hands, elaborating on what they were.

"This one is good," I heard him say as I inhaled the minted scent of his breath. "The Foie Gras," and he proceeded to read what the dish was topped with. Although I could plainly read the toppings for myself, I enjoyed him behind me and whispering into my ear, his light baritone timber causing pulses to shiver down my spine. I inhaled his scent. He was carted with the scent of…outside, or rather a more natured aroma. It was weird, but enticed my senses as I inhaled it deeply.

"The truffle dishes are also good." He stated and I hummed to let him know that I was at least half listening. "…well…some are," he corrected and chuckled into my ear, and I felt my knees tremble at the sound.

"How…how do you know French?" I inquired as I tried to sustain the persistent shudder buckling in my knees. He hummed softly into my ear.

"I work with a lot of different people…it's required that I'm versatile when I communicate." He replied, and continued offering recommendations to me. _Different people? He's a crew member. What the hell is he talking about…? What is it that he does exactly?_ I pondered to myself, and hummed thoughtfully.

"Jacob Black." I mused aloud. _The name sounds familiar…but I don't—_

"Yes, Seth Clearwater?" Jacob inquired into my ear, but I didn't say anything as I felt his breath ghost over the shell of my ear, and I shuddered. He chuckled at my reaction, his chesty chuckle going straight to my groin, caressing it. "You called my name?"

"Oh…um. Yeah. We were…I mean you, no, no I meant I…I didn't know…" I didn't know what the hell I was talking about, that's what I didn't know. So, instead I cleared my throat to procure me about two seconds to think of what I wanted to say. "…I was just wondering…where, exactly, do you work?"

He stood at full mast from my inquiry, and moved back over to his seat before sitting. He looked at me with a smile. "You're an intern, right?" I nodded, although he already knew that. He chuckled. "I'm surprised you don't know by now…then again it would explain a lot, huh?"

"I don't understand what you mean." I retorted.

"You have a lot of questions for me, don't you?" At first I thought it was a bad thing, but then his smile widened into a grin and I felt my heart swell from the delight of knowing that it was for me to relish in. "…I'm glad you do, because not many people care to know much about me nowadays."

"What do you mean?" He hummed.

"Let's save the questions for now though, okay? Let's order first, and then get to know each other on a basic level before we get into all of your top notch inquires, okay?" I stared at him, trying to decipher just who exactly is, Jacob Black.

I nodded. "Okay…"

After another five minutes of deliberation, Jake and I ordered our food with him persuading me to try something new, and reassuring me that he would pay for it. I was tentative at first, but eventually I gave in and ordered the basil salmon pâté, chilled and with a white cider mixed into cranberry juice. That alone was sixty-five dollars, and I was about to reconsider, but Jake had assured me again and sent the waiter away.

Twenty minutes went by before our food came, and I marveled at their fast services, because it felt like five. All the while Jake and I chatted about trivial things; the different sports that he liked, the different music that I liked, red wine versus white wine, favorite foods, colors, midnight snacks and favorite candies. I like candy, so that conversation went on for a while.

We laughed, smiled, grinned, and by the time our food came, my nervousness around him somewhat abated into a mild giddiness, to where I smiled at just about anything he did. It was fun to just chill and get away from the classrooms, the books, and the constant studying that left me mentally exhausted.

"So," he started as he sliced into his Caille en sarcophage, which was quailed in a puff pastry shell with foie gras and truffle sauce. It looked repulsive, but who was I to judge his taste in cuisine? "…about those questions you wanted to ask me…would you like to ask them now, or later?"

"I like that candy too." I said, taking a bite from one of my pâtés. Jacob stopped eating and stared at me bemused for a second before his countenance showed his comprehension, and he chuckled around his fork. I smiled. "…but, maybe—oh my _goodness_ this is freakin' fantastic," I moaned, feeling my eyes roll back in my head. Jacob laughed at me.

"I knew you'd like it." He said, and I just hummed before taking another bite. I chewed and swallowed before commencing again.

"Maybe we can spread it out. I want to ask them all, but…" I trailed. I didn't want to overwhelm him. As I'm sure he already knew, I'm a very inquisitive person, and would bombard him with questions until his head is literally whirling on his shoulders.

He chuckled again. "Is that your way of telling me that I might have a chance at a second date with you?" He teased.

"Uhm…maybe." I replied bashfully, and Jacob hummed his evident amusement before goading me to carry on with my questions. I swallowed another bite and wiped my mouth before continuing. "So…what is it that you do exactly? I mean, let's face it, working as a crew member under Mr. Masen is not enough to pay for the bill that's coming, _to you_," I emphasized, "after we finish."

He snickered. "You're very intuitive. It really wouldn't be enough, so thank goodness I don't actually work there, huh? Or else we'd have to pull a dine and dash, or either be in the back washing dishes." He laughed at his own joke, and although I didn't find it too funny, the mild giddiness in my stomach lurched and I smiled anyways.

"If you don't work for Mr. Masen, then what do you do?" I inquired, and ate another piece of the sustenance in my bowl.

"Edward and I go way back." He replied.

"Edward?" I questioned, and my eyes met his as he nodded. "You mean Mr. Masen, right?"

"Yes. While you know him as "Mr. Masen", I've known him since grade school, so I call him Edward." I was more than just taken aback, I was completely stunned. _Grade school?_ I reiterated to myself. "Like Edward, I too am a renowned music producer." My eyes widened and my hand dropped the pâté I was holding back into the bowl. "Perhaps you've heard of "Ephraim Enterprises de Recording Records?"

My eyes nearly bulged from my head and my jaw dropped to the table a second time as I finally realized why Jacob's name sounded so familiar to me. I was an intern. I was supposed to have studied and known right off the back when the grandson of a legend such as Ephraim Black was in my presence.

"You're his grandson, aren't you?" I asked astounded, my mouth still hanging open. "Jacob Black…you're the late Ephraim Black's grandson. Oh my god. I can't believe this." I grinned. No, not grinned. What took over my face was more than a grin. Every single tooth in my mouth was showing, and my cheeks burned from how hard I was smiling at him.

Jacob again chuckled as I marveled at him, and he took another forkful of his food into his mouth. "I see you've finally unveiled the figure that has had his eyes on you for nearly…nine months now I believe it is." He snickered again at the face I made.

My face was so ridiculous at that moment I wasn't even sure how to describe what I felt. "Y-y-you…wanted m-me…for nine months?" My voice sounded as though I was completely mortified, and my face showed my astonishment, but my insides screamed jovially.

"Give or take a little, yes. I have." He answered, his eyes never leaving mine as he allowed a smile to curve his supple lips.

"…wow…why?" He stopped the fork that was only centimeters away from entering his cavern, and dropping it back onto his plate. His eyes surveyed me, searching mine as he stared in what I perceived to be disbelief at my inquiry. "W-what?"

"I don't fully understand your question. What do you mean, why? Why what?" Then he lifted the fork and took the sustenance cradled to it into his mouth. I picked my jaw up from the table, it now being my turn to wear the dubious expression.

"Why like me…why me out of everyone else you could have? Maybe _you_ don't know who you are, but you could have anybody." I argued. "I mean, _look at you_!" I said it louder than intended, and was certain we got a few speculative glances our way, but I figured the statement said it all. But Jacob just seemed nonchalant as he took another mouthful and swallowed it.

"If I can have anyone—then why _not_ you?" He asked and unyieldingly his eyes stared into mine, as he waited for an answer I assumed. His gaze was so intense, it sent shivers down and then back up my spine. The way his eyes gleamed under the lighting and the way he had them so adamantly tamed on me were really making me hot underneath my clothes, my loins jumping with anticipation as I tried to settle down.

"B-because…I don't know. I'm only a college freshman and an intern, what could I possibly give you?" I asked, and I was about to take up another piece of my pâté, but I didn't want it after my epiphany. It wasn't just him. What could I give to anyone right now? I've been so busy and caught up in school and studying I couldn't do much of anything else. Although I did sacrifice one day for Paul, but that was Paul. Would I do it for anyone else? No.

I dropped my hand on the table and looked down into my bowl as I mulled over my thoughts. "Then may I ask you a question?" I looked up and into his eyes, and he continued on. "What do you think I need, that I don't already have?" Again his eyes were obstinately trained on mine as he waited for an answer.

"I don't know." I said after a short while. "You have a damned sexy car, a freakin' fantastic career, you probably have a gigantic house, and you have money up the ass." I ranted. "I don't know what else you could even _possibly_ need." I looked down at my hand when I felt his soft, warm hand cover mine on the table, and I looked back to him, noting him staring directly into my eyes.

"All that is true…Seth, you say that you're only a freshman in college, but surely you understand that money isn't everything." His gaze was beginning to burn into me, his voice laced with sincerity. _Like hell it isn't…I need it if I want to graduate._ I thought to myself. "Money means nothing if you have nothing to spend it on…" he squeezed my hand lightly, "or any_one_ to spend it on." My breath hitched, and slowly I was losing myself in his eyes and his words.

"Seth, you said that I could have anyone, right? Well that may even be true, but the sad truth is, not everyone wants me. They don't want me, but more so what I have." He paused, and I searched his eyes silently. He squeezed my hand again. "I've been down that road too many times to count. But you…you were different. You were…blind to everything that I had, and had no choice but to see me for me.

"And I apologize if I'm coming on too strong for you right now, but I don't think you fully understand that a chance like that is exactly what I've been waiting for. The chance where someone would see me and I'd be just another face in the crowd, and not the grandson of the legendary Ephraim Black who inherited all the labels and money he possessed…I've been waiting for someone like you for a while. The only problem with it was, my confidence was shot since I was no longer seen as a big-shot millionaire in your eyes, and I didn't know if I stood a chance as just a normal guy.

"The only reason I found the courage to ask you out tonight was because of your advances on me yesterday night." My brows furrowed slightly, and he continued. "When you approached me at Paul's party yesterday night, I was relieved when you told me all that you've thought of me since the first time our eyes met," he chuckled.

_I said that? When?_ "You really surprised me when you started flirting with me, and by the end of the night you asked me to come home with you." He grinned, and my eyes widened. "I didn't know that was what you had in mind when you asked, but—"

"What the hell!" I snatched my hand from under his, and exploded. "That was _you_ who did this to me!" I shouted and pulled the neck of my shirt down to reveal the red bruises across my neck to him. "You did that to me?" I growled. "And the bite marks on my back…" I knew that I was probably causing a scene, and judging from Jacob's expression, he was confused as to why that was. "You took advantage of me when I was drunk and had your way with me? That's fuckin' _sick_!"

"W-what are you talking about?" He asked, looking quite convincing as he stared at me with his puzzled expression. Bullshit!

"Don't act like you didn't know that I was drunk when all that happened." His eyes widened, and I shook my head. "I'm getting the hell out of here." I tried to stand, but Jacob grabbed my arm and pulled me back into my seat.

"Seth, I didn't know that you were. I honestly didn't." He tried to explain, but I only furrowed my brows further. "You really weren't acting like you were. So how was I to know?"

"What do you mean I wasn't acting like it? Slurred speech, falling over, flirting with any and everybody, alcoholic breath, there had to be so many dead giveaways, so don't give me that crap, and then try to lecture me like I'm supposed to be 'the one'. That's a bunch of bull." I tried to storm out again, but his grip was tight and he was determined to keep me in my place.

He shook his head. "No. There was none of that. I don't recall your speech being slurred one time, or you falling over, and the whole flirting thing…well I just thought it was the right atmosphere for you. A lot of people were flirting so I didn't think much of it. And as far as smelling alcohol on you, I didn'y smell anything like that on you. The only scent I smelled from you was strawberries…and I think coconut."

"How couldn't you have smelled it? _I was drunk_!" I seethed.

"Well how many drinks did you have?" He asked, and just as I was about to answer I realized that I only had one drink, and it wasn't even supposed to be alcohol, no thanks to Paul. Immediately my rage simmered.

"…one." I mumbled.

"See, how could I—wait, what? Only one." He chuckled. "Wow. You're a lightweight."

"I don't drink." I argued, and looked away from him. Then I felt my arm moving around the table and turned back around and saw him turning me towards him before falling onto one knee with my hand cupped in both of his.

"Regardless, I didn't know. I truthfully, from the bottom of my heart, did not know. Otherwise I wouldn't have done any of it." Again I was drawn into the sincerity of his brown eyes. "Seth, I am so sorry, and I hope you can find it somewhere in your heart to forgive me…You're a very clean drunk."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Yeah…Well I am Paul's cousin. He could be drunk for days and no one would even notice, not even me." I shifted my eyes back onto him and noted the smile on his face, and surprisingly, despite knowing that I was taken advantage of by this man, the giddiness in my gut hadn't ceased. "…I'm already over it." I said, and sighed again.

"Thank you." But didn't rise from his knee. "Seth, earlier you said you didn't know what you could possibly give to me. Well, now I'm asking if it is possible for you to give me everything that I don't already have…and allow me to share with you all that I do have." My eyes widened again. "Please, allow me to take you out again, and let's both see where this leads us…please."

"I—" before I could even manage to get the first syllable of my sentence out, I suddenly heard a chorus of clapping resounding around us. I looked around at all the people clapping. "What's going on?" I asked as I noted all of them staring at me.

Jacob laughed. "I believe that they may think I'm proposing to you." He laughed again, and I turned back to me, discerning that he was indeed on one knee, and held one of my hands in both of his own, staring directly into my eyes, under the romantic fluorescence of a five star restaurant.

"_Oh my god, no! No, no, no, no!_" I shouted, frantically shaking my head in disapproval. I heard Jacob hum.

"Well that's kind of harsh. You could've at least let me down a bit nicer." He complained, and I abruptly fixed him with a glower.

"You are not proposing to me." I growled to him and pulled my hand away again. He shrugged and stood at full mast from his kneeling position.

"Ah! Everyone, he unfortunately said no." He announced, and I was ready to kick him in the shin, until I heard a clamor of dejected "awes" and "that's too bad" and even a "what the hell was all the commotion about then" and then I stopped myself from kicking. "Maybe next time." He added, and looked down at me from the corner of his eye before he smiled.

I felt my entire face heat up, and I turned away from him. "I think it's time for us to go." I said.

"But I thought you still had so many questions?" He teased, and I turned back to him and glowered.

"I can ask later." I growled behind clenched teeth.

"Sounds like a second date to me." He grinned, and I scoffed before rolling my eyes.

"Whatever." I said indifferently, but I couldn't resist the smile that curved my lips, and I think he saw it as well, because shortly after, he laughed at me. I wanted to be upset, just a little, but his laugh was addictive and provoking, and I found myself wanting to hear more of it as I laughed along with him.

* * *

><p><strong>I haven't updated this one in a while, but here it is. <strong>

**Did you think I overused the dabs of French words and whatnots I threw in there?**

**Tell me what you think. **


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